A Resident-Driven Legal System?

Yeh, I know...8 million reasons not to go there...

But can the collection of account holders that we are, as 'residents', ever evolve into a cohesive society without rules? Without mechanisms that allow one to "know" who they are passing Lindens (proxy US dollars) to, or that there truly IS an accountable account-holder, what hope is there for a society to evolve? Is anarchy and financial exploitation to be the legacy of Second Life?

When will we have at least *some* assurance that we aren't being snookered again by the same account holder who hit us up before?

Can *some* mechanism of financial accountability be built into all this, since we're already being positioned for identity-compromise, so to speak, for 'other reasons'?

I think if a cohesive society could exist without rules, it already would.

Yet at the same time, I'm not being cynical, merely pragmatic, when I say.. it would never work.

I think Ashcroft Burnham was involved in a project aiming for this. You might try getting in touch with him.

"Yeh, I know...8 million reasons not to go there...

But can the collection of account holders that we are, as 'residents', ever evolve into a cohesive society without rules?"


No.


"Without mechanisms that allow one to "know" who they are passing Lindens (proxy US dollars) to, or that there truly IS an accountable account-holder, what hope is there for a society to evolve?"

None.


"Is anarchy and financial exploitation to be the legacy of Second Life?"


Without major changes..........probably.


"When will we have at least *some* assurance that we aren't being snookered again by the same account holder who hit us up before?"


Again, without major changes..........never.


"Can *some* mechanism of financial accountability be built into all this, since we're already being positioned for identity-compromise, so to speak, for 'other reasons'?"

Yes...........but with massive opposition.

I can prove that the idea of utopia is impossible, observe:

Utopia is established, no one breaks the rules, therefore the rules aren't needed (fewer rules, the better the world as it allows for more free thought and expression).
As soon as there aren't any rules to break something like stealing bread is no longer a crime.
People start stealing bread because its not against the suposed laws of the utopia.
Utopia disolves into chaos.

There are a few generations between steps, but to establish utopia in the first place you generally have to set up so many laws that it's actually a military state. Utopia comes after you brainwash everyone.

"Chaos and Order are not enemies, only opposites."
~Richard Garriott~

You are forgetting the primary purpose of SL is to serve Linden Labs' ambition. Wanting accountability and protection from those who would commit fraud or unfair business practices, is like the television viewer thinking the shows are important to the networks; they aren't. They are something to wrap the commericals around. LL can never know when one form of exploitation in SL will better serve THEIR interests. Also, if you can hold others in SL up to a higher standard, why not the Lindens themselves? LL has repeatedly stated they will not permit any form of inworld government to emerge. They claim it's about retaining creativity and free enterprise inworld, but that's just spin. It's like the landbots. If there was an inworld government, they would have been dealt with. Same thing with Copybot. LL needs the flexibility to do whatever it sees fit, wtihout having to concern itself with the will of the users.

We do have a body to govern SL, LL's greed and self interest. It's not a fair body. It's an oligarchy, but an oligarchy is a legitimate form of government.

I'm not saying it's fair, but the only way for fairness to emerge is for a new virtual world to be born, preferably in some offshore location, where US anti-gambling, Dutch anti-virtual rape, etc. groups have little power, perhaps some sort of decentralized network, like the bit torrents as opposed to the old Napster. And it would have to have a money making structure that allowed it the leeway to impose fairness, rather than politically correct, economoically beneficial rules and regs. The technology and expense of running such a venture don't exist at the moment. Ten years from now, probably, but right now, only SL, and likely in a few years, other platforms, cloning SL will emerge, but even they will be mired by fear of prosecution and the lure of what will make the owners of such a Virtual World the most money.